Spartans dominate
Winning two games by a combined score of 7-1 is impressive. Dominating two completely different teams who compete on the same level as you confirms you are pretty good. However, that being said these two weekend games need a reality check; The University of Manitoba and the University of Regina are not good at women’s soccer. Take nothing away from Trinity Western University, a team can only play the opponents on their schedule and the Spartans deserve credit for staying mentally focused and not playing down to the other teams level. The Spartans women’s soccer team will be challenged this season, and they will come up short and lose a few games; but no challenge presented itself on September 16 or 17.
Photo: Scott Stewart
The first game of the two-game weekend set began promptly at five o’clock on Friday the 16th with the Spartans looking to bounce back from a recent disappointing loss to UBC, which dropped the team from 5th to 9th in the CIS top 10 rankings.
The Bison of Manitoba knew they were overmatched and in turn elected to try and suffocate TWU with defence during most of the first half. The Bison kept their forwards back and clogged the box in front of the net with heavy traffic which successfully limited the Spartans’ shooting lanes. The disparity in overall speed and talent was obvious from the get go as the Spartans were able to track down just about every loose ball and hound the Bison with aggressive force checking which prevented the Bison from applying significant counter pressure. The Spartans defence had a few miscues with poor passes and turnovers that allowed the Bison to attempt four shots at the TWU net but none of Manitoba’s offensive forays provided trouble for Spartans goalkeeper, Kristen Funk.
When a team is out skilled it is not necessarily hopeless. Upsets happen. They usually come when an underdog out coaches its more talented opponent and uses a schematic advantage to tip the scale of power into their favour. Appalachian State’s football team used an aggressive spread offence to outflank Michigan’s defence in 2007 and pull off the biggest upset in college football history. And North Carolina State used hybrid defences to ground Houston’s vaunted offence to win the men’s National basketball Championship in 1983. This was the type of strategy that Manitoba elected to use against TWU. The Bison knew they did not have the firepower to keep up with the Spartans in an offensive shootout so it decided to use defence to their advantage in the game.
The strategy worked for a while and the Spartans seemed to be growing frustrated with their lack of quality shots until Manitoba’s Gillian Sidon committed a fatal error. When a team uses a schematically based strategy to even out a disadvantage they cannot make mistakes that give a free advantage to the other team. Sidon committed a foul inside the box on a fairly innocent play and was booked for a yellow card. The play set up the Spartans with a free kick for Melissa Mobilio who had her first attempt stopped but was able to kick in the rebound to give TWU a 1-0 lead.
The Bison ditched their all out defence and attempted to apply offensive pressure in the second half. They got a free kick from just outside the box which was shanked horrendously wide and they even got a goal about midway through the second half on a nice fast break rush up the right side. However, the Spartans were just too much, scoring three lovely goals they cruised to an easy 4-1 victory. There was one scary moment when TWU’s Danielle Rocon had her ankle taken out on the near sideline and was carried off the field. The injury looked bad and Rocon did not appear in the Spartans following game against Regina. Keep her in your prayers and hope she will be okay and return to the field soon.
The game against Regina the following night was not any closer. The Spartans out shot the Cougars 27-4 and tallied three goals from Daniela Gerig, Jennifer Castillo, and Jessica King. The Spartans displayed their supremacy throughout and never gave Regina any hope in a game that will not go down as an instant classic but rather, a display of pure dominance.
These were not games to relish or remember. The Spartans will analyze the contests at practice and leave it behind to focus on upcoming games and attaining the larger goal of Canada West and CIS championships. We did not learn much about this team that we didn’t already know. What we know is that these Spartans are good, they are focused, and expectations are high with this group.
Cameron Stuerle
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